He picked up valuable time in both the Giro and Vuelta with those. Also, as mentioned, he's not a long climb guy. Ryder actually out rode him in the Giro on the long ones, even the long steep ones.

Which long ones did he outride him in? I don't recall that happening on the Stelvio, but I can't seem to find a comprehensive list of stage finishes for the key stages so I could be forgetting something.

i feel i lack too much knowledge here in order to draw any conclusions, but i wonder - what the heck happened to the cyclists' career/performance cycle - aren't they supposed to peak for a bit longer than one-two seasons?

Wiggins won his first world title (of 6) in 2003 when he was 23, and won the TDF and 4th Olympic gold (medalling at 4 consecutive Olympics) in 2012 when he was 32.

How many peak years do you want?

i was referring to his career on the road.

_________________If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a.... clean cyclist!

_________________No one would have believed in the formative years of the twenty first century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns

Wingguy, i made an observation (not a statement) in a form of a question about cyclists' (not a cyclist's) performance. from the context alone i suppose it's clear enough that it is about the road cycling scene in this particular matter. yes, some guys have other palmares, won in other disciplines (Evans, Wiggins) but that i find rather irrelevant for comparison of e.g. recent TdF winners

you're sensitive when it comes to Wiggins, i get it, most if not all British are, which is completely natural by all means, but frankly speaking makes any discussion about possible flaws of your idol, of whatever nature they might be, pretty useless, because in your eyes he's impeccable

just to be clear on this, i don't find Wiggins any better or any worse than other recent grand tour winners - he's just different, and so is (was?) his career. i'd really like to see him loosing on the road than in the press, but that i guess says something on how he is as an athlete. i never appreciated Evans, but you got to give it to him - he doesn't give up. even Andy Schleck tries to carry on. most people tend to have much more respect for those who fail during a battle rather than quit without even trying. that's how you (well maybe not You-you) tell between a champion and a winner

_________________If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a.... clean cyclist!

Wingguy, i made an observation (not a statement) in a form of a question about cyclists' (not a cyclist's) performance. from the context alone i suppose it's clear enough that it is about the road cycling scene in this particular matter. yes, some guys have other palmares, won in other disciplines (Evans, Wiggins) but that i find rather irrelevant for comparison of e.g. recent TdF winners

It's not just relevant, in that case it is the answer. Why did Wiggins only have one or two peak road seasons? Because he spent much of his cycling career doing something else. Not painting over Wiggins track career isn't sensitivity, it's common sense.

As for the other guys, Cadel had Grand Tour podiums in 6 of the last 7 seasons, and a TdF 4th in the one before that, Schleck put in 3 excellent TdF's in a row (yes, really) before suffering a genuinely nasty injury (and seemingly losing his mental game completely) but he's still young so let's not write him off just yet. Then there's Sastre who managed to not have an off day against a weak field and Pereiro was a complete fluke.

Why get upset on the matter the pair of you? He's not even you.Do your own bit and wise up with a tale to tell from your own experiences, instead of shadowing Some Guy. Get original.

TdF Podium has already been set.We just don't yet know Who or How.

_________________No one would have believed in the formative years of the twenty first century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns

as for his current situation - fans say he's got nothing to prove at this point. others point out his remarkable 2012 season (compared to previous and present year), and some gossip he's afraid to dope any longer hence his 'lack of motivation', 'misunderstanings within SKY' and 'health issues'. as there's no solid evidence supporting any of those claims, i guess we've no other option but to put Wiggo in the 'one timers' bracket, along Landis (dope), Evans, Sastre (although those two had been some solid contenders for a few years), Pereiro (currently a retired ...football player) and Schleck (who clearly lost his...uhm..brother). the only cyclist capable of repeating his triumph is Contador (dope). i feel i lack too much knowledge here in order to draw any conclusions, but i wonder - what the heck happened to the cyclists' career/performance cycle - aren't they supposed to peak for a bit longer than one-two seasons?

Oh no, it's certainly a valid question. I mean only 6 weeks ago Bradley was telling us how great his 'numbers' were and how he was lining up a Giro - Tour double this year and next minute after a couple of bad descents, getting dropped on climbs and a faked knee injury and he's ready to pull the pin on everything.

I predict we will see an about turn sometime in the future ... or a scandal of some sort. Maybe he's trying to distance himself from Froome who appears to be lit up like a christmas tree at the moment.

Don't quite get this, why confuse buyer with two -top of the line- TT bikes? Can't they just use one or the other? Apart from minor changes and Bolide being designed largely by UK engineers, i don't see much differences. Perhaps Bolide is Sky exclusive for some reason?

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